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Topic: Tarting up an old caravan

Folkiecamper

05/3/2015 at 12:50am
Location: Essex
Outfit: Caravan oldish 5 berth

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Hello lovely camping community,
I've just won a knackered old caravan on eBay (I'm new to caravaning) and want to tart it up a bit but I am worried about overdoing it and using up my limited payload.

The inside needs freshening up, I've heard kitchen/bathroom paint is an effective and inexpensive way of doing this and resilient to damp but would it add much to the weight of the van?? Would sticky back plastic be lighter? (The stuff you buy in B&Q). I renovated a campervan a few years ago and used melamine paint because it's flexible and damp proof but found it difficult to use (especially on the ceiling!) and very time consuming. It was also rather expensive.

I'd also like to do something with the exterior, preferably paint the whole thing sky blue but having tried to paint my old campervan I know it is not as easy as it looks and we are rather bound by the great british weather, so it may just be sections. I've also wondered if adhesive vinyl paper might be a quick fix that's also quite light, I found some designed for outdoor use with an expected life span of 4-10 years (depending on the grade) but is this just a silly idea?! I recently saw a caravan with stripy floor vinyl stuck on the sides using silicon glue. It looked brilliant but I suspect it added a lot of weight.

Has anyone painted, wall papered, sticky back plastic-ed or vinyl wrapped their old caravans? Did it work well? Did it add much weight? Did it cost much?

I have a young baby so I don't have the time to renovate it properly this time so I'm looking for quick fixes that are easy, cheap and above all light weight to make the van more homely and festival friendly - other than just a few throws and a bit of bunting.

All advice will be welcome!

billy

05/3/2015 at 7:46am
Location: North Essex
Outfit: Caravelair Alba 400

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If you are painting, for interior use household undercoat & gloss or any other suitable paint & for exterior if you want to paint it use coach enamel. Either paint or stuck on vinyl whatever won't add much weight so use what you want.

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BrandNewDay

05/3/2015 at 7:48am
Location: Greater Manchester
Outfit: Vango Juno 800

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I'm also about to take possession of a very old caravan and I, too, have vague ideas of doing things to it to make it look fresh and pretty. So, I'll be paying attention to this thread.

millermicm

05/3/2015 at 7:59am
Location: west country
Outfit: None Entered

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Sticky backed plastic is a bit of a bugger to stick anywhere other than a flat level surface and soon looks like tacky backed plastic.

As long as the van is not damp household satin finish emulsion on the wall boards and gloss paint on the woodwork should do.

A new vinyl floor will usually help.

Outside talk to your local car accessories shop about brushable cellulose paint but not an easy job.

-------------
Steve

HEJC72

05/3/2015 at 8:10am
Location: North Yorkshire
Outfit: Holi * Perran 4 * Airedale 5

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I revamped my little old caravan both inside and out.
I used left over emulsion for the walls, ceiling and cupboard surrounds.
I covered the doors in sticky backed plastic bought off eBay.
I bought new seat foam and made removable covers. Also made new curtains and bought some throws and cushions.
My hubby painted the outside of my caravan to match my tow car. He used Dulux gloss through a spray gun on a warm Spring day.

You can see a piccie of my outfit in my gallery.

-------------
Helen xx
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alan29

05/3/2015 at 8:57am
Location: Wirral
Outfit: Swift Freestyle 520 on seasonal pitch

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Thats a great looking caravan. I bet everyone who sees it smiles.

billy

05/3/2015 at 9:24am
Location: North Essex
Outfit: Caravelair Alba 400

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Any colour yer like inside my CoC. Previous owner's work, not mine though. Its just a box to sleep in, works whatever the colour.

BrandNewDay

05/3/2015 at 2:07pm
Location: Greater Manchester
Outfit: Vango Juno 800

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Check out this Pinterest-worthy blog by a woman who buys vintage caravans and tarts them up for resale:

http://thehappycaravan.blogspot.co.uk/p/painting-a.html

HEJC72

05/3/2015 at 4:06pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Outfit: Holi * Perran 4 * Airedale 5

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Quote: Originally posted by alan29 on 05/3/2015
Thats a great looking caravan. I bet everyone who sees it smiles.

Thank you.
She certainly makes me smile and i have found she is a great ice breaker when on a site.

-------------
Helen xx
Mini Mad Mum

LobeyDosser

05/3/2015 at 9:33pm
Location: Argyll Scotland
Outfit: 1997 Bailey Ranger 470 4

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Another topic to follow is "Crappy Old Caravans".

We are forever finding ways to modify our vans to suit our needs and vans, like mine, that will never have any resale value, but will do the 2 of us for a few years yet.

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Lobey.

Folkiecamper

17/3/2015 at 6:53pm
Location: Essex
Outfit: Caravan oldish 5 berth

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Thanks for all the comments and sorry I didnt reply sooner it's been a strange week or so, didn't get the caravan (ebay strikes again) but found out I've beaten cancer (phew!). So I'm no back to searching for a caravan.
I love love love the paint job on you're van hejc72! That's just the sort of thing I want to do, perfect for festivals.

Good to know people have had success with emulsion, I've got some nice eggshell blue left over so I can use that and save a few quid. I might stay clear of the sticky vinyl following your advice.

It is just a box to sleep in Billy but a nice fresh colourful box is just so much more fun than a faded outdated sad looking caravan.

Let us know how you get on with you're revamp BrandNewDay!

LobeyDosser

17/3/2015 at 7:21pm
Location: Argyll Scotland
Outfit: 1997 Bailey Ranger 470 4

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Hi Folkiecamper, before you spend any money on it, use it.

We thought our van "had everything" until we used it a few times and then realised that I lot of the stuff could come out or be changed to suit our requirements better.

Caravans are designed to be used by Mr & Mrs Average, but I have yet to meet this elusive couple.
However I have seen plenty of vans that have been converted by their owners into rather nice and comfy units.

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Lobey.

Folkiecamper

19/3/2015 at 3:44pm
Location: Essex
Outfit: Caravan oldish 5 berth

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Good advice Lobey, thank you.

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